Post Offices and Chicken Soup

Good evening, all.

So today, I slept in and then made french toast.  Nutella and speculoos are good substitutes for powdered sugar.

Then I went to the post office.

So I sent two packages today, one small one that barely fit a coffee mug and some chocolates (sorry to ruin the surprise), and a big one, the size of a large shoebox.  I waited a good while and finally I went up to the counter.  The guy (who didn't speak any English, I think) weighed it and it was 500 grams (half kilo).  20 euro.  I'm standing there thinking, "You've GOT to be kidding. It's going to be like 100 to send both of them if that's how much it is. Oh, boy, this is fun."

He pulled the other box down, weighed it. 2.2 kilo, nearly four and a half times the weight, and definitely 4 times the size.  Great. And then he says something along the lines of "not possible" and "too heavy" and hands me a different form.  (I had filled out little papers as receipts already; you write out the address and what's in it, and then they hand it back to you after they look at it.)  So I fill out the new form, complete with phone numbers and email addresses on it, and he sticks it on the box.  He doesn't tell me the price. Or maybe he does, but I don't speak French so I didn't understand him.  I was ready to pay for it, no matter the cost.  And then he hands me the receipt.  26 euro for the big box because it couldn't be shipped the expensive way because it was over 2 kilos.

WHAT? How on earth does that make sense?  I don't know, but now I know one huge package is better than little ones... By a lot. I was happy it wasn't so expensive.

So I hand over my credit card... and they don't take it. Luckily I had cash, and the packages are on their way.

Then I went to the grocery store to get stuff for soup, came home, made lunch for myself, and promptly started making dinner.

Chicken noodle soup.  It was good. There were lots of noodles. Lots and lots of them.  We had 10 people for dinner, and I think everyone liked it.  They went back for thirds, fourths and fifths, at least.  And we still have about 6 servings left... And they want me to make it again. Possibly.  My recipe after the jump (click "Read more"), as there wasn't anything else of note that happened today.  Tomorrow I'm going to Zurich, taking the train from here to Antwerp, then Antwerp to Amsterdam, then flying from Amsterdam to Zurich. Hopefully I don't miss any connections and don't get lost...

Goodnight, world.
Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cut in half (this part made me ALMOST become a vegetarian. ALMOST)
water (enough to cover the chicken by a couple inches)
bunch of celery (the big ones, with all the leaves, not just the hearts)
lots of carrots (1 kilo)
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic (it has been decided that more is needed, so add some if you have some)
parsley
thyme
salt
pepper
noodles (2 bags/boxes (small) - I used one bag of itty-bitty macaroni and one of fusilli or rotini or whatever the twisty ones are called. Any will work)

Directions:
Place chicken in large pot and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Boil for at least an hour (I did an hour and a half or so), skimming fat off when necessary.  Add quartered onion, celery and carrots (cut in half and cleaned - do not chop either yet), garlic, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper.  Continue boiling for another hour and a half.  Pour off broth into another pot.  Set broth on burner on low heat. If you would like, you can add a bullion cube for extra flavor.

Let the solid stuff cool for a bit, then chop celery, carrots and onions.  Pull meat off chicken bones (it should literally be falling off the bones at this point anyways), and separate from skin.  Discard bones and skin. Shred meat as de-boning, or chop if you prefer.  Add chopped veggies and meats back into broth and let simmer (or just barely) for an hour on very low heat.  30 minutes before serving, turn heat up.  It should boil within 15 to 20 minutes.  Once boiling, add as many noodles as you want.  Boil for 10-15 minutes to cook noodles, then serve.  Once noodles are finished, you can turn the heat down or off.  Enjoy.

If you are left with a ton of noodles and not much broth, add enough water to cover noodles and a bullion cube. Return pot to boiling to dissolve, and it's ready to serve.

This recipe served 10 people at least 3 servings each, and has at least 6  servings leftover.